Introduction • Earthquake waves carry enormous power as they travel through the earth. • Other types of mechanical waves, such as sound waves or the vibration of the strings of a piano, carry far less energy. • Overlapping waves interfere, which helps us understand musical instruments.
Types of mechanical waves • A mechanical wave is a disturbance traveling through a medium. • Figure 15.1 below illustrates transverse waves and longitudinal waves.
• For a periodic wave, each particle of the medium
undergoes periodic motion. • The wavelength of a periodic wave is the length of one complete wave pattern. • The speed of any periodic wave of frequency f is v = f.
Periodic transverse waves • For the transverse waves shown here in Figures 15.3 and 15.4, the particles move up and down, but the wave moves to the right.
Periodic longitudinal waves • For the longitudinal waves shown here in Figures 15.6 and 15.7, the particles oscillate back and forth along the same direction that the wave moves. • Follow Example 15.1.
Mathematical description of a wave • The wave function, y(x,t), gives a mathematical description of a wave. In this function, y is the displacement of a particle at time t and position x. • The wave function for a sinusoidal wave moving in the +x-direction is y(x,t) = Acos(kx – t), where k = 2π/ is called the wave number. • Figure 15.8 at the right illustrates a sinusoidal wave.
the right look similar, but they are not identical. Graph (a) shows the shape of the string at t = 0, but graph (b) shows the displacement y as a function of time at t = 0.
Particle velocity and acceleration in a sinusoidal wave • The graphs in Figure 15.10 below show the velocity and acceleration of particles of a string carrying a transverse wave.
Power in a wave • A wave transfers power along a string because it transfers energy. • The average power is proportional to the square of the amplitude and to the square of the frequency. This result is true for all waves. • Follow Example 15.4.
Wave intensity • The intensity of a wave is the average power it carries per unit area. • If the waves spread out uniformly in all directions and no energy is absorbed, the intensity I at any distance r from a wave source is inversely proportional to r2: I 1/r2. (See Figure 15.17 at the right.) • Follow Example 15.5.
Boundary conditions • When a wave reflects from a fixed end, the pulse inverts as it reflects. See Figure 15.19(a) at the right. • When a wave reflects from a free end, the pulse reflects without inverting. See Figure 15.19(b) at the right.
The formation of a standing wave • In Figure 15.24, a wave to the left combines with a wave to the right to form a standing wave. • Refer to Problem- Solving Strategy 15.2 and follow Example 15.6.